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Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

SOUTHCOAST REGION
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Sitka Katlian Bay Road Project #67672

Katlian Bay Aerial Photo

Project Details

The Katlian Bay Road Project would:
  • Construct 9 miles of new unpaved single-lane road starting from the end of Halibut Pt. Road
  • Add bridges across Katlian River and South Katlian River
  • Rehabilitate portions of an existing USFS road located on Shee Atika lands
  • Add intervisible road turnouts
  • Add pullouts and lookouts to Katlian Bay
  • Add turnaround with parking and day use facilities at the new trailhead to USFS land
  • Be constructed and open for year-round use
  • Cross Alaska State lands, USFS-managed lands & Shee Atika lands

The proposed road would have a design speed of 25 miles per hour and would include approximately 100 turnouts and 2-foot shoulders. The new road would terminate with a trail connection to USFS Road No. 75797 where a turnaround, trailhead parking, and some day-use facilities would be constructed.

The proposed road alignment was identified from data collected during engineering and environmental field surveys performed during 2014, 2015, and 2016. The project would traverse approximately 96 acres of primarily forested habitat. From initial field studies, the following would be needed:

   •  288 culverts ranging in diameter from 24 inches to 120 inches.
   •  10 Structural Plate Arch/ Culvert Arches for stream crossings with spans ranging from 6 feet to 30 feet.
   •  2 bridges consisting of pre-engineered structures with spans of approximately 105 feet and 150 feet, respectively.

This project is currently under construction.

Project Status

The Department began preliminary design and environmental baseline studies for the proposed route in spring 2014. Public and Agency scoping began in early March 2015 with a Public Notice issued on March 4, 2015 (Public Notices). Design and environmental efforts are nearing completion with project permitting planned to begin in early 2018.

The Public comment period ended on April 3, 2015.With consideration of public and agency comments, and engineering considerations, the department will make further refinements to the proposed design and complete the environmental documentation.

Environmental Document
Environmental field work was conducted during 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Katlian Bay Road Environmental Document has been released January 2018.